Fixing Structurally Deficient Bridges Does not Require More Funding
The Skagit River bridge collapse in Washington State has focused attention on the state of America’s bridges. But as I stated on NBC Nightly News with Brian Williams bridges are in substantially better...
View ArticleNew Jersey Signs Lottery Privatization Contract
On June 21st, New Jersey became the third state—after Illinois and Indiana—to privatize the management of its state lottery. Under the 15-year contact, a private manager will take over the lottery’s...
View ArticleNew Jersey Becomes Third State to Privatize Lottery
My new article on the New Jersey lottery privatization contract signed yesterday is up. Here's an excerpt:On June 21st, New Jersey became the third state—after Illinois and Indiana—to privatize the...
View ArticleColoradoâ??s Contract City, Part 1: Public Works Contracting 2.0 in Centennial
Innovators in Action 2013 In recent years, Centennial, Colorado—a Denver-area suburb of over 100,000 residents that incorporated in 2001—has gained increasing recognition in public administration...
View ArticleInnovators in Action: Public Works Contracting 2.0 in Centennial, Colorado
The latest interview in Reason Foundation's Innovators in Action 2013 series focuses on the contract city of Centennial, Colorado and its comprehensive public-private partnership to deliver a...
View ArticleSCOTUS Secures Jury Trial Rights for Criminal Defendants
While everyone was waiting for the U.S. Supreme Court rulings on the same-sex marriage cases, the Court handed down two significant rulings last week regarding criminal sentencing.The first was a...
View ArticleCalifornia's Not-Actually-Balanced Budget Ignores Unfunded Liabilities
Reading some of the mainstream news coverage of the recent $96.3 billion California General Fund budget deal, one would think that fiscal restraint has come back and that all is well in the Golden...
View ArticleFasTracks to Nowhere: Denver's Decade-Old Boondoggle
Denver’s Regional Transportation District (RTD) has been forced to reschedule a telephone town hall meeting that was intended to discuss the future of its Northwest light rail line with local...
View ArticleNo Bailout for State Pensions
Orange County Register The past five years or so have seen federal government bailouts and so-called "stimulus" funding for banks, domestic automobile manufacturers, insurance companies, Fannie Mae,...
View ArticleBag Ban Bad for Freedom and Environment
U-T San Diego Californians dodged yet another nanny-state regulation recently when the state Senate narrowly voted down a bill to ban plastic bags statewide, but the reprieve might only be temporary....
View ArticleDetroit: The Future of California?
Orange County Register The legislature just passed a $96.3 billion state budget, which was approved on party-line votes in both the Assembly and the Senate. The new state budget is the third-largest...
View ArticleFederal Government Should Not Bail Out State Pension Systems
The following is prepared testimony that was delivered before the California Assembly Committee on Banking and Finance on May 6, 2013, concerning Assembly Joint Resolution 10, sponsored by...
View ArticleFederal Government Should Not Bail Out State Pension Systems
The following is prepared testimony that was delivered before the California Assembly Committee on Banking and Finance on May 6, 2013, concerning Assembly Joint Resolution 10, sponsored by...
View ArticlePrivatized Regulation and Antitrust
Federal antitrust law enshrines a public-private dichotomy: unlike the private sector, state governments are completely immune from antitrust suits under the doctrine of Parker v. Brown (1943). Thus, a...
View ArticleNew York Report Damns Public-Private Partnerships with Faint Praise
Public Works Financing Those hoping that New York will soon join the ranks of states with workable public-private partnership (P3) legislation, now that the state has embraced Design-Build for the...
View ArticleSasha Volokh on Privatized Regulation and Antitrust
Sasha Volokh has a new article on Reason.org discussing the implications of a recent Fourth Circuit Court ruling related to privatized regulation and antitrust issues. Here's the intro:Federal...
View ArticleLAUSD to Use Construction Funds for $500 Million to Distribute iPads to All...
LAUSD recently approved a contract with Apple to buy iPads for 30,000 students, for a total cost of $30 million. They will also be hiring about 15 "facilitators" and providing training and support for...
View ArticleGovernor Brownâ??s New School Funding Program Shows Promise, but Lacks...
Governor Brown's proposed 8-year initiative to increase educational funding in California for individual students recently passed, marking the advent of a total overhaul of the California public...
View ArticleThe Potential of Student-Based Budgeting for Florida
The school funding formula currently in place in Florida, called the Florida Education Finance Program, accomplishes student-based budgeting and uses the weighted student formula on the...
View ArticleSan Francisco Transit Strike and the Union 1%
I appeared on FBN's Money with Melissa Francis today talking about the San Francisco Transit strike. Watch the segment here. The transit workers who earn on average over $70,000 in salary, and...
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